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♪ heather: did you know today marks 50 years since beatle

mania began? the beatles' debuttal bomb "please please me" was released, and within 18 months they had conquered europe, america and the world. bill: nicely done. only 50 years. hey, great being with you. heather: it was great being here. bill: are you on this weekendsome. heather: i am. 6-7 and 4-6. just watch all day. bill: you got it. "happening now" starts right now. heather: bye-bye. [laughter] jon: and we begin with brand new stories and breaking news. senate majority leader harry reid getting tough in the gun debate. the controversial bill he is introducing on the senate floor and the fight that lies ahead. also new threats from iran's supreme leader against two major cities as president obama wraps up a three-day visit to the middle east. plus, a man accused of murdering his social lite wife pulls a stunt and gets his trial delayed. we'll tell you about it, it's all "happening now."

♪ jon: well, president obama is on the final day of his trip to israel in the middle east. air force one just landed in jordan where the president is about to meet with king ab abdullah, one of america's closest arab allies. welcome to a brand new hour of "happening now," i'm jon scott. uma: and i'm uma. on the agenda today will be the huge influx of refugees into jordan from syria's civil war, and king abdullah has voiced fears islamic terrorists could create a base in his country. meanwhile, president obama spending his last day in israel paying his respects at two memorial sites solemnly reaffirming the jewish state's right to exist. lelandleland vittert is now jois live from jerusalem with more. >> reporter: we started with ceremony in the morning today, and now as president obama has landed in jordan, this turns to really hard core, nitty-gritty

diplomatic work of trying to shore up one of the last remaining u.s. allies in the arab world. king abdullah controls the linchpin, the united states has, of course, lost the president in egypt as an ally, the president in tunisia, the president of yemen, and king abdullah is one of the last friends america has. he, too, is under threat from the muslim brother hood, so a big part of this is the president thanking him for his help and promising to continue the aid from the united states. also the u.s. military cooperation with jordan which is especially key right now as jordan is facing increasing threats in terms of the syrian civil war. not only the refugee crisis, also the threat of al-qaeda-linked groups setting up bases in jordan, using weapons they've gotten in syria and, lastly, the issue of what's going to happen with all the jordanian/u.s. military training that's going on to possibly deal with syria's chemical weapons, all issues on the table when president obama walks off air force one there.

this first part of the trip, though, when he was back here in israel can largely be seen as win a hearts and meendz of the israeli people. when president obama showed up here, only about 10% of israelis decided they liked him, and he decided he was going to go right to the israeli public, and that was a big speech he gave yesterday in which it wasn't so much what he said, but how he said it; the things he said about iran, about a palestinian state were all things we had heard before, but this time he told it inside the israeli narrative, using a lot more empathy towards israel, not so much preaching saying i'm here to help israel. in fact, in many ways that worked. if you look at the front pages of the israeli newspapers today, all offered a lot of praise here for president obama and his trip. and this is the main newspaper, the e equivalent of the aye tims here in israel, and it quotes him saying tell your leaders to make peace, his vision of an

israeli/palestinian relationship, how israel should deal with iran and take that more towards the israeli leadership to see if he can't get traction there. remember how frosty that relationship was between the president and the prime minister. today they were very chummy, there has been a lot of hugs a lot of handshakes, a lot of smiles. the question going forward, are they going to be able to turn the words and smiles into good deeds going forward? uma? uma: leland, thank you so much for that update. jon: new developments now in the push for gun control legislation. senate majority leader harry reid is expected to bring a gun control bill to the senate floor that will include a controversial expansion of background checks for private firearms sales. the move shows democrats intend to take an aggressive approach in the effort to broaden the checks, but will they get the support they need to get that bill passed? let's talk about it with bob cusack, managing editor at "the hill." harry reid did not submit any

kind of assault weapons ban in the legislation that he's talking about. he was fairly silent about that except to say that it just doesn't have the support. >> that's right, jon. i mean, democrats may have waited trooping to move this bill. -- too long to move this bill. republicans who were interested in getting a bill earlier this year, they're not as interested now. will a bill pass the senate? yes. but it won't have the assault weapons ban. background checks doesn't have the votes right now. senator charles schumer is trying to get a deal with republicans, but so far that's been elusive. and, remember, the house has to act as well, so that's probably going to be a bill that president obama doesn't like. so, you know, you have to take advantage of political momentum and democrats over the last couple months haven't got a lot done on guns, and the clock is ticking. jon: well, why can't chuck schumer find a republican cosponsor for that legislation? >> well, you know, the national rifle association kind of stumbled right out of the gates. they had some missteps in their

lobbying efforts, but since that time they have seemingly gotten the upper hand on president obama and republicans, remember, half of the congress has an a rating, more than half the congress has an a rating from the nra. so some republicans are nervous about getting primaried should they join up with democrats. jon: well, joe biden who has been leading the white house's push for gun control legislation had this to say regarding the senate: it must be awful to be in public office and concluding that even though you might believe you should take action, that you can't take action because of the political consequences you may face. isn't that representative government? i mean, if these senators and representatives are voting the way they think their constituents want, that's what they should do. >> well, no, that's right. and every senator and every house member's going to make up their own mind on how to vote here. and the white house knew from the get go that it was not going to to the assault weapons ban, but they thought they could get

some type of background check, and that is going to be in the bill, but it doesn't have the 60 votes right now, and that's why schumer's trying to get a republican cosponsor, and he just doesn't have one that is an a rate prosecution the nra. jon: so why not let the states take the lead? colorado and new york have passed fairly high profile gun control legislation, new york's going to have to doctor theirs some because there are a number of mistakes in it, apparently. >> uh-huh. well, i think that's what some republicans are going to say. house republicans say that they are open to moving some type of bill that would keep guns out of the mentally ill, that's their focus, the mentally ill. they also say, remind the public that connecticut had very strict gun laws, but yet you still had the tragedy in connecticut. so democrats just have to seize it. they have to move the this very quickly. congress is going to be going on a two week recess, and then democrats are going to have to move this bill and i think move it quickly or it could get weaker as it goes along, and

then, of course, the president's going to have to get involved and push the house to do something. jon: also worth noting in newtown where the shooting took place the application for gun permits jumped significantly in the weeks and months after the shooting. so it sounds like the senate is just maybe far left or somewhat to the left of the population op this thing they're trying -- on this thing they're trying to get passed. >> the key is going to be the background checks. if schumer can get a republican, they're going to be able to claim victory. but if they don't get the background checks, democrats were calling that the sweet spot of this gun violence movement. and it's going to be a tough spot for the gun control activists. do they support a bill that is relatively weak compared to what president obama was calling for, or do they just take what they can get? jon: uh-huh. and harry reid isn't going to get his assault weapons ban, as we started out by saying. bob cusack from "the hill," thank you. >> thanks, jon. uma: and this is a fox business alert, wall street says patience

is running out in the european union with protests in the street of cyprus as the country faces a banking collapse and the government faces a critical monday deadline to come up with a rescue plan. joining us now with more, elizabeth macdonald from the fox business network. tell us the latest. >> reporter: this situation is really fluid. let me give you the latest developments at this hour. the european central bank continues to say and it's continuing to stand pat that it's threatening to cut off emergency support for cyprus' banking system on monday, that's the deadline. what happened here is the banking system in cyprus is overloaded with both greek government and cyprus government debt. it's not that the banks are too big to save, they're to mismanaged to save. so right now at this hour the high hissing at two banks at cyprus are insolvent, and they could collapse on monday. at the same time, cyprus risks being ejected from the european zone which would be a stunning blow to the crowning achievement of europe, postworld war ii

europe, to unify the warring countries in europe. there's a 14-year history of the eurozone. cyprus, if it's booted out, would be the first country to be ejected. at this hour brussels and berlin continue to reject plans to, basically, nationalize the state's pension system. also their reject -- they're rejecting plans in cyprus to use government bonds based on gas deposits in the country. so what they're talking about now is severe restrictions on money flooding out of cyprus via the banks there, meaning restrictses on cash deposits -- withdrawals, checking account withdrawals, electronic transfers have been frozen. so what they're also talking about is a good bank/bad bank. structure in cyprus, waiting to see if brussels and berlin approve that. they're also talking about a solidarity investment fund, trying to get international investors including russia and other countries to help out cyprus. but right now we're seeing this standoff continuing. wall street is taking it in stride, uma, because the cyprus

banking sector is not so hard wired into the international system. the bond market is not that big in cyprus, the banks heavily depend on depositor money to fund themselves. so the other issue, too, crossing the wires is another plan by a german banking official -- it w 2011, it's being talked about heavily to get this, uma, to tax bank deposits in italy. so we had that bank deposit tax rejected in cyprus, these other measures are still in flux right now to save the banking system in cyprus. the situation is pretty dire right now. we're waiting for the deadline to pass on monday, see what happens there, uma, i'm going to give it back to you. uma: it's definitely scary, and the stakes remain quite high. thank you sop for that update. jon: a woman who is seen on surveillance video is then found dead just hours later. now police help the public will help them find her killer. the latest on this murder investigation. and sweeping renovations could be coming to guantanamo

bay to the tune of $49 million. a look at what the pentagon is proposing for the detention camp there and what it means for taxpayers, that includes you. it's coming up in a live report. hey.

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jon: some crime stories we're following now. jurors in the jodi arias murder trial expressing some doubts about whether she's telling the truth. the group posing more than a hundred questions to a defense witness who claims arias suffers from ptsd and amnesia. arias testifies she killed her lover in self-defense but cannot recall many of the details. a woman found dead behind a plaza in california is captured on surveillance video hours earlier. police releasing this video now in hopes someone will come forward with information about sylvia marie flores or her killer. and former tennis star jennifer capriati charged with

battery and stalking. police say she attacked her ex-boyfriend at a gym on valentine's day. capriati due in court next month. uma: we've got new information now on the future of guantanamo bay. american taxpayers could soon foot the bull for a very expensive bakeover. makeover. coot run her ridge is joining us now from washington. catherine, great to see you. how much money are we talking about right now? >> reporter: thank you, uma, and good morning. the request is closer to $100 million to renovate two barracks, a mess hall and the communications networks, and about half is for a new prison for special detainees, that's the high-value population including khalid sheikh mohammed and the four other suspects in the 9/11 attack. fox news has been inside the camps more than a half dozen times, but no journal u.s. has been given access to home of the most senior al-qaeda members. the camps were bullet at temporary housing -- built as

temporary house, and the last 12 years have taken its toll according to the head of u.s. southern command. >> the buildings, for the most part, are falling apart, and we really do need to get serious about taking care of our troops that are down there as well as improving the security. >> reporter: we need to tell you while all of this is happening with the realities of sequestration as well. uma: indeed. are there other signs the administration will not with closing the camp anytime soon? >> reporter: well, there have been for quite some time, one of the most visible is this soccer field that was built at the cost of $744,000. a tunnel allows them to go back and fort without a guard escort, this is designed to limit the contact between the guards and detainees. officials previously told fox it led to a more compliant population. when fox first broke the story in the spring of 2012, critics pointed out the money was being spent at the same time these mandatory cuts were being made

in the military's medical insurance, and just as a final point ofest, that $744,000 is a very important price point pause any project over $750,000 actually needs congressional approval, so this project did not need the sign sign-off of capitol hill. i'm awl catherine, thank you very much. jon: well, a man is accused of murdering his socialite wife. he's been trying to slow down the trial, and in the time he has succeeded -- this time he has succeeded. the drastic steps he took. we'll tell you what happened. and a woman's place is in the house and the senate. a look at the the changing face of capitol hill as the gender gap shrinks. [ giada ] why did i switch to natural instincts? it's healthier, ammonia-free. and with aloe, vitamin e, and coconut oil, my hair looks healthier than before i colored. i switched. you should too, to natural instincts.

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jon: right now a new twist in a bizarre murder case. rick folbaum has details from the breaking news desk. >> reporter: you really couldn't make this stanley stuff up if yd to, and now the murder suspect's bizarre behavior has brought anythings to a halt. viola was a german ex-pat live anything d.c. along with her much-younger husband, a fellow german. they had hosted fancy parties in their georgetown home on a regularring basis, and then one night in august of 2011, viola was found dead. the now 48-year-old husband was charged after trying to pass off a phony document saying he was eligible to part of her estate when, in fact, he had been written out of her will, so that was a fake, and now he is on a hunger strike, refusing to eat. he's very sick because of it, too sick to show up for his trial leaving prosecutors and the judge to try to figure out the best way forward. legal experts say it's tricky to try someone for murder when

they're not actually there for the trial. prosecutors are considering asking the court to have muth force fed. doctors say he might not even be healthy enough for that, and we haven't mentioned why he's wearing this uniform. he claims to be an iraqi army general, and he asked for permission to wear this uniform in court. the judge said no to that, and now the judge has had to postpone the trial until further notice while these shenanigans seem to go on and on. back to you. jon: it is, as you say, a very strange case with all kinds of legal permutations. rick folbaum, thank you. and next hour our legal panel takes a look at this very strange case. uma: well, they say the u.s. senate is a club, but you can't call it a boys' club anymore. a record number of women are now serving in the senate, only 44 women in the u.s. history have had that honor, and there are 20 women right now who are senators with nine of them chairing committees including very ip fliewn cial ones like the appropriations and budget

committees. joining us now, monica crowley, fox news contributor and the author of "what the bleep just happened. the happy warrior's' guide to the great american comeback." great to see you. >> hi, uma. uma: certainly, thes a big step -- it is a big step forward and certainly changes the tenor or the way the senate is run. >> yeah, it's amazing, we have one-fifth of the entire senate body are women, but there's still only two female restrooms, so there's always a long line of women. what a lot of female senators say is, yeah, we're stuck in this line, but that's where we get a lot of deal making done and so on. it's a very interesting dynamic. only 44 women have ever served in the u.s. senate, 20 of whom are there right now, so only four who are republican. i'd love to see more republican women in the senate, house and in governorships, but we have a really strong preans there, and i think it's going to get even greater, uma, across the board because in the past it used to

be a lot of women were deterred from running for office because of all of the baggage that goes along with it and all of the sort of hoops you have to go through in exposing your family to the press and press scrutiny. now i think a lot of women are kind of, um, expecting that and saying, okay, i can handle it now. so you're getting more and more women running at every level of government. uma: it was also a fact, was it not, that women just had a hard time asking for money. >> yes. and now i think more and more women are more comfortable with that idea, and the more women who actually do it, they pave the way for others to say, you know what? i can do that. uma: and what's great about having more women in the senate, they choose to focus on legislation that men don't often focus on like folking on issues about -- focusing on issues related to childcare. >> some issues that are traditionally a female base, like you just mentioned, certainly so. but also you've got a woman like kelly eye yacht who's been at the forfront of the benghazi investigations, she's joined

with john mccain and lindsay graham in raising serious questions about that on the national security front. and, actually, her presence there as a strong conservative voice on benghazi and other security issues has counterbalanced hillary clinton's very strong voice when she was secretary of state. so very interesting. uma: what do you think the men come away with from knowing that they are being watched very carefully by the women in this? it can no longer be simply an old boy network. >> yeah. i think the dynamic there has changed too where the men who have serve inside that body for a long time are now used to it. you know, they tell stories, women senators tell the stories when they fist have gotten there, you know, somebody on the senate floor will say, oh, no, this desk is for a senate. kelly ayotte tells the story she turns around, yes, i am a u.s. senator. [laughter] but the men are changing now, i think for the most part tend to look at their female colleagues as just colleagues in the senate. uma: and we're seeing more women in governorships, and that's

making a big difference in states across the country. >> yeah. especially strong conservative female governors like nikki haley and susana martinez in new mexico, they're making big strides within the conservative movement, and both of them are actually talked about as candidates for president. so i think pretty soon given this trend we're going to see a female president. uma: that would be nice to see that. >> as a conservative, i hope it's not hillary clinton, but we'll see. uma: absolutely. it's not far away, 2016 just around the corner. thank you, monica. >> thank you. jon: and right mow on capitol hill some of those senators, male and female, are getting ready to make some important decisions. many of them, including the afore mentioned kelly ayotte, are going to be voting for the first time on a budget as u.s. senators. we'll take a look at the challenges they're facing and what's at stake. also the new threat from iran's supreme leader against israel as president obama wraps up his visit to the middle east.

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uma: welcome back, everybody. just a few hours the democratically controlled senate will begin the process of voting on a new budget, the first fur four years. they're bracing for marathon session expected to last into the wee hours of saturday. mike emanuel is there today. action will be in the senate where a budget proposal and many amendments will be considered. mike? >> reporter: for example, they're hour they're voting on sears are of six amendment, one of them kelly

ayotte's, republican from new hampshire which would prohibit raising taxes when unemployment is higher than 5.5%. senators will be put on the record with dozens of votes in the hours ahead, including one on democrat senator patty murray's budget. >> while both sides favor closing tax loopholes and endings wasteful deductions that favor wealthiest americans and biggest corporations the senate thinks some of that revenue should be used to tackle the deficit and invest in the middle class, not be used just to simply tax, cut tax rates for the rich the way that the house budget did. >> reporter: now the senate did not accept the paul ryan house budget. the patty murray budget, the senate plan will probably come up to a vote 2:00 a.m. or so. uma: 2:00 a.m. regardless how votes will go won't there be need for serious negotiations? >> reporter: no question about that the house has a very different version than the senate. the house said they would balance the budget without raising taxes.

the senate is doing more spending, more taxes. so our colleague greta van susteren asked house budget chair paul ryan about next steps. >> house passed the budget. the senate is passing a budget first time we've seen that in four years. that's a good thing. the question is now can we start looking for common ground? can we started a advancing toward a compromise? the way we look at this as house republicans. we understand our budget probably won't become law in every great detail but hopefully we get a down payment on this problem. >> reporter: he gave us a preview whether the negotiations after the easter passover recess but there is also a political impact to all this the these lawmakers are put on the record on critical programs. on spending on taxes. so you better believe those who are on the ballot in 2014. their opponents and opposition party will look at their votes, looking for ammunition. uma? uma: you want to hold everybody accountable. mike, thank you very much. >> thank you. jon: "happening now", a call to block a pakistani company

from doing business with the united states. the group wants to open a factory in indiana. how its plant near lahore produces fertilizer. that fertilizer is used to make most of the roadside bombs in afghanistan. there are concerns that the group has the blood of u.s. troops on its hands as a consequence. national security corresondent driven give is live at the pentagon for us right now. how long has the u.s. military known where the material that builds all these ieds, these roadside bombs was coming from and why hasn't more been done to stop them? >> reporter: the short answer for at least seven years they have known where it is coming from. 80% of the fertilizer used in the roadside bombs in afghanistan came from one fertilizer factory in lahore. they use ad unique formation alchoholing a calcium ammonium nitrate, or can, that made it highly

explosive. when they tried to reach out to fatima and make the fertilizer more inert it was halted by the pakistan intelligence service according to those familiar with the situation. this is the military's counter iee did bureau last december. >> producers in pakistan have been less than cooperative. despite making minor packaging, tracking and marketing changes they have not implemented any effective product security or stewardship efforts. i believe pakistani-based producers can and must do more. >> reporter: the general said he has seen a change in the fatima group since january that they have expressed an interest trying to work with the u.s. government to make the fertilizer more inert. the fatima group says it was them that approached the u.s. military to make this change. again they say they have been willing to all along but again, for seven years they have been making this product that has been killing and maiming u.s. troops, jon.

jon: but they're willingness to work with u.s. authorities, that's a fairly recent development, isn't it? can you give us a timeline? >> reporter: in essence the change of heart seems to have come in january when the fatima group started looking into getting permission here in the u.s. to open a factory in indiana, even though this group had the blood of u.s. troops on its hands because in essence 80% of those ieds or roadside bombs came from their materials. so again in january is when we started to notice this change. they were going to take advantage of u.s. taxpayer money for, in the wake of floods in indiana in order to get an advantage and build their fertilizer plant out in indiana the in wake of recent floods. >> in this case it seems like the state department completely failed because not only was this company, fatima, able to still ship call yum ammonium nitrate to make bombs across the border

into afghanistan but they were almost getting ready to take advantage of taxpayer subsidized loans to set up shop in indiana to make more fertilizer while they were sending bomb-making material across the border from pakistan to afghanistan. >> reporter: the deal has now stalled in indiana until u.s. officials look into this further. we understand that pakistan right now is holding up visas for u.s. officials to travel to lahore to meet with the fatima group to see if in fact they have made changes to their fertilizer. jon? jon: that doesn't sound like a promising development. jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon. thank you. uma: well right now president obama is in jordan after wrapping up a three-day visit to israel. one issue at the top of the agenda, iran's nuclear program. israeli president shimon peres in a fox exclusive interview he believes they will order an attack on iran if necessary. based on the private conversations with mr. obama and comments the president made at the news conference

earlier this week. this as iran's assume people leader makes new threats to annihilate the cities of tel aviv and haifa. we have the director of the foundation for the defense of democracy. he is here to welcome his thoughts. great to see you. >> thank you, uma. great to be here. uma: what but think from the comments from president per rest. >> president's obama's trip woos to assure that he is deadly serious stopping this deadly weapon. uma: president is dealing with netanyahu in the terms of good cop, bad cop scenario in dealing with the iranian threat. >> it is hand about a good cop, bad cop situation. unless he compromises on his nuclear program the united states is fully committed to using military force to destroy iran's nuclear facilities. uma: were you surprised by the comments coming from

iran saying exactly if the united states moves forward with they are going to strike israel at a moment's notice? >> well i wasn't surprised. this has been decade of comments from this supreme leader. >> timing of it? >> the timing of it is probably not surprising give the trip. the supreme leader of iran for decades has been committed to destroying israel and rhetoric from him and his compatriots has always been consistent. they are committed to destroying the state of israel. uma: the president went to israel with a 10% approval rating among israelis. he was bound and determined to win the hearts an minds of israelies in that country. do you think he did a good job and succeeded in doing that? >> it was a very impressive charm offensive. i think he did all the right clintonesque comments and symbolism. the important issue when the mood music is turned off and everybody files out of the political theater israel and the united states are left with a day after hangover and that hangover is really the iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

that is the critical issue and i think everybody will take a real sober look at that when president obama returns home. uma: right now we're not seeing in i major moves in the direction to assure the world, the united states, people here who are saying we need to be stronger in our support of israel, especially when it comes to iran. words are not enough. this is simply just rhetoric. we've heard it before. >> right, uma. i think that is exactly right. that is the concern of israeli leaders and israeli public despite this charm offensive. reality in terms of iranian nuclear physics the physics is beating western economic pressure and diplomacy. iranians are 15 months away from undetectable in nuclear bomb. in 15 months time based on our estimates the iranians will produce enough fissile materiel to dash a bomb so quickly it will not be automobile to be detected by u.n. weapons inspectors and u.s. intelligence service that. is real concern that is the

issue prime minister netanyahu and president obama have to agree. uma: on issue of syria, chemical weapons, what are the thoughts at this moment? is there viable evidence to say those weapons have actually been used? >> certainly those are the claims and i think there will be a u.n. investigation into this but that clearly has been a red line president obama has drawn and needs to draw and it will be very critical that if there are chemical weapons being used by the assad regime president obama responds accordingly. that is another red line he is drawing. that is red line irisraelies will be watching and iranians. is this president serious about committing to red lines and honoring the red lines. uma: quickly with obama speaking to young people in israel, that was very interesting strategy on his part because he knows he often does well in those kind of settings, at that type of theater backdrop. >> i think that's right. president obama shown in the u.s. context he is he is brilliant at grassroots activism and getting support of the grassroots. he tried to go over the head of prime minister netanyahu.

he tried to appeal to the grassroots to build political support, get beyond a 10% approval rating. he will need that and support of israeli people if he will is for israelies to take significant risks for peace with respect to the palestinians. uma: you used that word over, risk, over and over again. >> there is risk on israeli borders. missiles from the north. missiles from the south. chemical weapons potentially used on one border. uma: unbelieveable. >> unbelievable risks for the israeli prime minister and his people. uma: thanks for being here. >> thanks, uma, for having me. jon: a bizarre chain of events leads to a devastating house fire. we'll tell you why the owner is blaming a snake for destroying her home. and we are just minutes away from a joint news conference by president obama and king abdullah of jordan. the president calling for peace as he tours the middle east. we'll look at some of the obstacles standing in the way. ♪ [ woman ] we had two tiny reasons

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advanced home management here today. adt. always there. uma: welcome back, everybody. a texas woman is blaming a snake for destroying her home. take a look. her house went up in flames wednesday night but how could a snake be responsible? well first-responders are saying it all began when the homeowner spotted the little critter. >> while cleaning up she saw a snake. threw gasoline on the snake and lit the snake on fire. the snake went into the brush pile and, the brush pile caught the home on fire. uma: can you believe that? a neighboring home was also many todayed in that fire. no word yet on any charges. jon? jon: don't try this at home. a fox news alert now. we are awaiting a joint news conference with president obama and jordan's king abdullah. the president is on his middle east tour after getting off to something of a rocky start. critics blasting mr. obama

for his failed policies in the region. we'll have that joint news conference once it begins. in the meantime let's talk with paul gigot, editorial page editor for "the wall street journal." you listened intently to the president's speech i'm sure. what did you think? >> well i thought it was above all, an attempt to reassure israelis and the fact that america has their back and to repair his relationship with prime minister benjamin netanyahu which has really been rocky as you know. the joke in the press corps it was operation dessert shamooz. jon: he start of off to the by going to muslim world to reset relations there. >> that is fine to make a trip like that. he never visited israel. he learn ad lesson from the first term. i infer that from the speech. you can't ask your friends to make peace with youred

very serries -- adversaries if your friends don't trust you. if the friends don't know america will be there for them you can't ask for peace. that is the problem in the first term. he is starting the second term out by telling the israelis i get it. you can count on me. now you take risks for peace. whether that happens or not i think is doubtful but at least he is trying to set the stage for that. jon: much has been made of the thorny relationship he had with benjamin netanyahu up till now, the israeli prime minister. did that get smathed over as a result of the words? >> certainly the atmospherics looked a lot better there were mutual compliments. he said my friend bebe. he knows, benjamin netanyahu just won re-election like the president has. the netanyahu is likely to be in the job for a while. he is fated to have to deal with him. so it makes sense to have this kind of at least, get the relationship back into at least a, some kind of,

lack of hostility at a minimum. jon: it was written in one of the papers that the president offered to israel or israelis the kind of warm embrace that they are accustomed to getting from american presidents but they hadn't gotten from this president up till now. >> no, they haven't. there is no question about that. in fact the first term was full of testy exchanges and i think that the president thought, okay, i can twist israel's arm and make them do this. it turns out he really can't. he needs their trust. now he also went to ramallah and met with the palestinian authority leader where they were a lot warier about u.s. commitments and you think he discovered that, there is still a long, way, jon, for there to go between if we get peace between the palestinians and israelis. it is an interesting question whether the president will spend the political capital that needed to be spent to make it happen. jon: sounds like you think this was more

window-dressing than anything? >> no, i think he is serious -- the president is serious about this issue no question. the john kerry the new secretary of state wants to see what is is possible. he wants therefore to try to set the groundwork for it. he is doing that with this speech. i think the facts on the ground are so difficulty to overcome, the suspicions are so difficult to overcome i depth see it happening. jon: as virtually every american president found in recent memory. >> yes. jon: paul gigot, thank you. you can catch paul this weekend when he hosts the "journal editorial report" tomorrow 2:00 p.m. eastern time here on fox news channel. uma: right now folks in one city are dropping sandbags, trying to get ahead of what could be a devastating flood. how they're preparing for the worst in fargo and will it be enough? now could be your chance to take home a piece of space history believe it or not but it's going to cost you. we'll bring you those details next.

jon: right now, bitters are getting amped up hoping to take a home a piece of space history. hundreds of items go up for auction ad the sale is expected to rake in big bucks. david lee miller has details from our new york city newsroom. what is for sale, david, and how much? >> reporter: jon, in total there are 250 items ranging from spacesuit gloves to photos. some of the space memorabilia will go for a few hundred dollars and rare items could fetch more than 100,000. one the more valuable artifacts is page in jim lovell's handwritten notes to calculate apollo 13's safe return to the either after the mission to the moon had to be aborted. you might remember tom hanks playing him in the movie and how how a mat error would have doomed crew.

the notes are expected to fetch $60,000. also dehydrated potato soup from apollo 13 the price is expected to be 6 to $8,000. a dollar bill signed by teacher chris at this mcauliffe and members of the challenger space shuttle that exploded 73 seconds after takeoff is also being auctioned. the starting bid is expected to be $1,000. it will get underway at bonham's auction house here in new york city. jon? jon: nasa has some budget problems but they're not selling this stuff, are they? >> reporter: no. the auction house says most of the items offered come from private collectors. some come directly from the astronauts themselves. up until recently, nasa tried to prevent the sale of space artifacts saying they were obtained by astronauts on the job and therefore the artifacts were the property of the government. a few months ago though that changed. >> there was a bill written into law last september by president obama which said that the astronauts were now allowed officially to sell

things that they had kept from the space program. so what it means, there is load of material now on the market and available to collectors without absolutely no question as to their authenticity and ownership. >> reporter: this is the first major auction since that law went into effect. since the end of the space shuttle program the space memorabilia have increased in price. now that there is no ambiguity about enownership, experts say we could see the price of memorabilia continue to rise. jon: well the astronauts risked their lives and many of them gave their lives in pursuit of the space race so i'm all for letting them sell some of that stuff. david lee miller. thank you. uma: should be quite an auction indeed. all right. well the search for a suspect in the murder of a prison chief may be over. breaking news on the man linked to this case who was caught in a wild police shoot rout in texas. a live report coming your way next. reality starting to set in as we get closer to full implementation of the president's affordable care

act. what will they expect of you next year? that is coming up in a live report. nexium, the purple pill,

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find out how you may be able to get nexium for just $18 a month at purplepill.com >> reporter: squaw we're here in the "happening now" control room, brand new stories coming your way including a bizarre one out of colorado and texas. a top prison official shot and killed in colorado, a high-speed chase and shootout in texas. police say there's a possible connection between the two. we'll have the latest twists in that story. also, three years after obamacare becomes law it's still incredibly unpopular according to polls. republicans still pledging to repeal it. joe trippi is here to weigh in on the law's future and why it may never fully be embraced. also, take a good look at this man right here. he is not a pilot. even though he tried to pass himself off as one in philly this week. what was he up to? all onboard for that and breaking news as it happens, the second hour of "happening now"

starts right now. ♪ uma: hello, everybody, and welcome to "happening now," i'm uma in for jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. "happening now," the manhunt for the killer of a prominent colorado prison official could be over after a high-speed chase and a shootout on a texas highway that played out like a scene from a movie. police saying the suspect, who shot at them at speeds topping 100 miles an hour, did not want to be taken alive, and they now say that suspect who was on lotter has died from his injuries. he was out on parole from a colorado prison. police say he was driving a car with colorado plates similar to a vehicle spotted outside the home of colorado's prison chief, tom clements, just before he was gunned down on his doorstep. alicia acuna live from denver. what are authorities saying this morning about this investigation, alicia? >> reporter: well, jon, the denver police department is actually tweeting that they believe that they have a link

between colorado and texas suspect evan ebel. on twitter they're saying through forensic work and other investigating that they are confident that ebel is the suspect that they were searching for in the death of nathan leon who delivered pizza in the denver metro area. leon was called for a delivery on sunday and shot several times. authorities say ebel opened fire on and wounded a sheriff's deputy in texas who tried to pull him over north of fort worth. ebel then took off in his black cadillac at a high rate of speed, crashed into a semi and ended up in a gun battle with another agency. >> once the suspect was struck by the 8 wheeler, he -- 18 wheeler, he exited the vehicle with a firearm and engaged our deputies in a fire fight. none of the deputies were hit by any suspect, any suspect shots. the suspect was hit as the deputies returned fire. >> reporter: now, texas authorities plan to hold a news

conference in about an hour, and there are also officials from three different colorado departments there as well, jon. jon: so this guy, ebel, what do we know about him? >> reporter: well, from what we know, he longed to a gang, a white supremacist gang known as the 211s while in prison. he has a rap sheet that involves weapons charges, robbery charges as well as assaulting a prison guard. what, if any, connection to department of corrections director tom clements is unknown. clements was shot and killed tuesday as he answered his door south of denver. el paso county sheriffs say as soon as they can figure out a direct connection, they will step over to the mics here in colorado and hold a news conference. jon? jon: alicia acuna live from denver, thank you. jon: well, the affordable care act is considered president obama's most significant legislative achievement. three years ago tomorrow he signed that bill into law, but

will americans as a whole ever come to love it? a police -- a piece in politico today puts it this way: someday the law's backers insisted obamacare will make the transition from a divisive idea to a widely-popular one, from a program that many people still find confusing and scary to a familiar and comfortable part of american life. this weekend, which marks the third anniversary of the law's passage, one thing remains clear; someday has not yet arrives and may not for a long time. let's talk about it now with joe trippi, former howard dean campaign manager and fox news contributor. do you agree, joe, with that premise, that obamacare, you know, still has not really swayed people? >> well, it's certainly still divisive. i think 31% of the people in a recent poll want it repealed or replaced, and 49% want to keep it the same or p even expand it. so the numbers are getting

better, but it's still very divisive. and the 31% that want to repeal it really want to repeal it. so, you know, i think, you know, in a partisan fight in 2014 the republicans, in a republican district, may be able to get people energized and support them with it. but it's getting a little better for it, actually, and i think there may be something, too, over the passage of time as people get used to it, their negativity to it is subsiding a little bit. jon: but as you well know, it was a bipartisan effort the other way that stripped away the taxes on medical twices. a bunch of democrats voted on it. it's kind of a slap in the face to president obama by his own democratic senate, you know, when he comes back from his overseas trip. >> well, i do think that's what's happening here. you still have members of congress reacting to this split

and the energy is on that 31% repeal it side. you know, people that have it don't feel a threat that it's going to be taken away or anything. so i think a lot of, you know, in an election year as you go in now positioning for 2014 not just on this, but on the budget, on other things your going to see, you know, people gravitating, politicians gravitating to where they think the energy is. i don't think it's going to be much of an issue in 2014, though, and here's why, jon. if you're a republican and you ran in 2012 saying if you elect me and i'll repeal it, the end of 2014 you say reelect me, and i'll repeal it. there are going to be people out there saying, well, that's what you told us last time, and you didn't get it done. so i think it's going to have less energy as a divisive sort of wedge b issue in 2014. i could be wrong, but that's just my gut right now. jon: but there are 33 states that have refused to set up those exchanges. that means the federal government is going to have to

step in and do the job in those 33 states. that's going to cost a huge amount of money, and that money wasn't budgeted as part of the process. on top of that, you going to have to have hugely complicated computer systems to run the benefits and the enrollment in this thing. that money, really, i mean, it's got to come from somewhere. where does it come from, joe? >> i mean, that's part of the issue. and we're going to have -- and there's going to be a fight over that, where does the money come from, and i think that is one of the ways the republicans will try to stop obamacare is by siphoning off funding. the same way democrats have often done on some foreign policy issues in the past with a republican president. stop the money is how you stop the law. but i think it's going to be a you have tough thing to do. it's, again, once the program gets in place, it's hard to take it back. and one of these things the governors have done when they let the federal government set up the system is that takes the

states out of having any ability to set up the exchange themself. i mean, it gives the state less say and the federal government more say. that's going to be a tough thing for the republicans. you know, republicans want more say in the states. so even in times of posing obamacare, they're actually giving more power to the federal government. it's very complicated issue. of. jon: well, it is complicated, and it's three years old, and most of its provisions really haven't kicked in yet. that's what remains to be seen, how, you know, people adjust to it as they actually have to sign on for this thing. joe trippi -- >> that's right. jon: -- we'll continue to keep a watch on it. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. uma: all right, this fox weather alert. fargo, north dakota, digging in for a battle with mother nature with possibly record-breaking flooding now in the forecast. rick folbaum is joining us with a look at what's ahead. >> reporter: flooding along the red river has been going on for centuries with major floods dating back to the 1820s and as recently as only a couple of

years ago. and now the nationalwet service says that some of the worst flooding ever could take place there this spring, and fargo is pretty much ground zero for this. city officials not taking any chances, asking locals to come fill sandbags in preparation for the flooding, something that given the history there residents are all too familiar with. >> we know it's getting old. it's extremely old. it's something we have to deal with. >> to do 500,000 sandbags, that takes approximately 50,000 sandbags a day. >> reporter: take a look at pictures here from 1934, or '43, rather. 2006, pictures from 2009, a major flood then. and even back in 2011, as recently as a couple of years back, fargo has been hit hard over and over again causing billions and billions of dollars in damage. this time the water could crest at around 38 feet, uma, leading to one of the top five worst floods in fargo's history. those extra sandbags you heard city officials talking about

might help, but the only real permanent solution is an almost $2 billion flood channel project that federal lawmakers have not yet approved funding for. back to you. uma: even though they know there's major damage in the past and probably damage ahead that's coming their way, you recall. all right, rick, thank you very much. jon: brand new details on the deadly shooting this morning at one of the nation's largest marine bases. we're reporting live from quantico with the latest, just ahead. [ coughs ] [ angry gibberish ] i took something for my sinuses, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is [ angry gibberish ] hi, i'm ensure clear... clear, huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've gotine grams of protein. that's three times more than me! [ female announcer ] ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach.

uma: we are back with new information about that deadly shooting at the marine corps base in quantico, virginia. authorities there are saying three marines are dead which includes the suspected gunman who apparently took his own life. a lockdown at the base was lifted this morning as authorities continue their investigation into another tragedy for the marine corps this week. joining us live now from quantico with more, elizabeth

prann. >> reporter: certainly sending shock waves throughout the community in addition to the fact that authorities are withholding their identities until the next of kin is identified, we're also not being told if there was a relationship or friendship between these three. we know they were active duty marines, they were all staff, they were colleagues here at the officer candidate school. what we do know is really a timeline of last night. the shooting occurred right around 10:30 was when the first call came in at taylor hall, home to both marines and some staff. and the whole campus was immediately put on lockdown, basically police tell us they discovered one of the male victims shortly thereafter. they had lag time, they don't explain why, but they tell us there was no standoff situation before they found the other two bodies, the shooter and a female victim. no one else was injured. like i said, no standoff, but they also said this was not a random attack. it was, quote, an isolated incident. we heard from colonel david maxwell, he's the base

commander. you can really feel the emotion and how painful this is for the community. >> during crises and situations like these, the safety of our marines, their families, civilian marines at quantico is always a priority and paramount in what we do. >> reporter: now, their identities will be withheld for at least 24 hours, like i mentioned, before next of kin is identified and family made aware. but it's been a devastating week for marines across the country. we know seven marines lost their life during a training exercise in nevada, and now three more late last night. uma? uma: very sad week, indeed. all right, thank you very much, elizabeth. jon: there is new attention on america's relationship with china as that country begins a transition with a new leader. where relations stand now, and can they improve? we're live at the state department with more on that. also, another security breach at a big american

airport. how did this guy manage to talk his way into a cocockpit? cockpit? and wanted for lying to the american people -- [laughter] there is the perp. uma: it's about time. jon: punxsutawney phil called for an early spring. it still hasn't arrived, unless maybe you live in florida. [laughter] what one state is doing to try to get revenge. [laughter]

uma: okay, right now police arresting a man in philadelphia who allegedly tried to impersonate a pilot and sneak into the cockpit of an american airlines flight. rick folbaum is back with more on this story. rick, what was he thinking? how could this happen? >> reporter: turns out you are not allowed to impersonate a pilot, just in case anybody out

there had any ideas to try this. apparently, the frenchman thought he would try, and he even got himself all suited up in a phony air france uniform and bag. police say he went up to the us airways gate in philly, he showed a fake air france id card and a coach ticket to west palm beach, florida, and he asked if he could get an upgrade. they told him, no. but once he got on the plain, he was still finish plane, he was still trying to get up close and personal with the flight crew. >> he portrayed himself as a pilot, and he gained access to the cockpit. it was a few minutes after that that they learned that he wasn't, was not a pilot, and police were called. well, it's concerning because we don't know what his designs were. i mean, he could be anything from just wanting to take a look at the cockpit to some other criminal designs. >> reporter: we may never know. along with everything else, he evidently did a lot of screaming about hating americans.

he is being charged with a number of things, including imperts nateing a pilot. -- impersonating a pilot. federal investigators have taken over this case. uma: wow. a bizarre story, rick. thank you very much. jon: right now president obama meeting with jordan's king abdullah behind closed doors as we await a joint news conference from the two leaders. a big issue on their agenda, the bloody two-year civil war raging in neighboring syria. chief white house correspondent ed henry is traveling with the president in jordan. ed? >> reporter: good to see you, jon, you're right, the president had kind of a sunset arrival here, such a peaceful, majestic setting here in iowa man, but the bottom line is, as you say, a lot of conflict right in the neighborhood. obviously, syria to the north. let's not forget king abdullah, who's a key u.s. ally, has had his own grip on power here weakening. and when you look at the conflict in syria, as you noted, there's fears that civil war will come across the border here

into overis can. -- jordan. there's already been about 500,000 refugees into jordan, it's straining their economy here. there's also fear about those chemical weapons in syria, will those come across the borderer and cause more violence and chaos? when i sat down yesterday with the israeli president, shimon peres, he said king abdullah and other leaders in the arab world need to step up here to stop the violence in syria. take a listen. >> it's an arab problem, it's an arab organization and league. they have to do what the africans did in africa, organize their force under the auspices of the united nations and stop the bloodshed. >> reporter: but so far king abdullah has said he opposes any kind of foreign military intervention in syria, so we're till at a stand still in that con felix. we'll be looking -- conflict. we'll be looking for that at the news conference and, let's not

forget there's pressure on president obama as well not just from republicans back home in the u.s., but also democrats like senator carl levin saying that the president should help set up a no-fly zone around syria, maybe there should be some sort of strategic surgical air strikes against president assad's military there in syria to try to improve the situation, get him out of of power. so far president obama has resisted that, he's likely to get more questions about that as well as syria's chemical weapons in the moments ahead of this news conference. jon: and this news conference won't be particularly wide ranging, two questions each for each leader, correct? >> reporter: that's right. and they'll undoubtedly focus on syria, but, of course, the broader mideast peace situation, the president just coming from israel, of course, could be another topic, but this is not going to be a wide-ranging news conference, you're right. jon: ed henry in jordan, you're right. thank you. uma: amid allegations beijing is waging a campaign of cyber

warfare against the u.s. government and american businesses. adding to the tension, china's ongoing support for the rogue regime of north korea although there are now some signs that may be changing. correspondent james rosen joining us live from the state department with more. james? >> reporter: uma, good afternoon. some analysts would argue that in the 40 years since richard nixon became the first sitting u.s. president to visit china, sino-american relations have never been more fraught with tension and disagreement. sino-rus, o arrangements appear warmer. it is the chinese leader's first foreign trip since taking office last week. statements from the two leaders betrayed a shared desire to foster what is called a multipolar world, one aimed at constraining american influence across the globe. analysts cited internal political dynamics in beijing as the chief reason why the obama administration shouldn't expect

sudden improvement in its dealings with china. >> there's very little that we really know about what si ping thinks, but we have to remember that he's inside a collective system. the politboro standing committee which is the apex of political power in china is dominated by the so-called conservatives, and in the chinese context, that means the hard line, anti-reformers. >> reporter: treasury secretary jack lew visited beijing earlier this week, imploring china to become a more responsible stakeholder in the global economy, that means stopping its intellectual property theft, its currently manipulation and most recently its sponsorship of the cyber attacks that uma mentioned. >> there'll be lots of problems ahead and a clear-minded, very honest, direct and tough approach is the right way to deal with the chinese government. i think that's the way president clinton and president george w. bush tried to do it. i know president obama has had a

tough-minded approach as well. >> reporter: one positive note, published reports this morning say china last month halted its oil shipments to north korea, possibly as punishment for the north korean nuclear test of february 12th. uma? uma: well, that's something at least, james. always good to see you, thank you very much. >> reporter: thank you. jon: a major legal battle over immigration is heading to court. does arizona's governor have the right to block a key provision of president obama's immigration policy? we'll take a look at both sides of this controversial case. and a wild shooting caught on tape. police are asking for the public's help. of there's a gunman outside that door those guys are trying to hold closed. the full video next. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? e carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

jon: "happening now", dramatic surveillance video of a gunman opening fire into an asian food store. take a look. police in philadelphia released this tape showing a man blasting his way through a glass door. it happened tuesday night. three young mendes prattly trying to hold the door shut from the up side but the gunman pushes the door open enough to fire around it injurying the men. police are hoping showing the video will help identify the gunman. there he is in the gray hoodie. they hope it will get him arrested. uma: president obama's immigration is heading to

court. they are. arizona denies illegal immigrants temporary legal status by the president government. let's bring in now former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney arthur aidala along with criminal defense attorney, jennifer bonjean. great to have you here. >> welcome. uma: how do you successful will the civil rights groups will be when they take aim at what governor brewer has done? >> i think they're going to be successful. i think the federal law is what controls here, but i understand where the governor's coming from. her state is the one that suffers the most apparently by people coming here illegally. she needs to stand up. she needs to make a statement. she needs to say, we're not going to tolerate this, even if she will wind up losing in the federal court system. even if the federal judges say, no, no, this is federal issue. this isn't a state issue. there are certain issues, governor, you're in charge of but there are other

issues where the president is in charge. uma: why isn't this seen as state issue particularly the time it will affect the citizens of that state? >> there is something called the supremacy clause. this is recalcitrant act by jan brewer. she is saying i will ignore president obama's executive order because i don't think it is federally authorized. yet, the state policy itself is up consistent because they have allowed people who have temporary work permits, authorized by the federal government to get driver's licenses even in arizona. tens of thousands of people. she is trying to make a distinction between authorization conferred by congress, versus authorization conferred by president obama and it is really not a very strong argument. uma: what about if she raises issues about the safety of the citizens, the fact that we already have situations that threaten our people here? we don't need another added burden? >> what jennifer is basically hinting at this is just a political thing.

she is saying that the governor is coming against this just because it is president obama. so you hope that is not true. but what i hope she is making a statement and making a stand because she represents the constituents of the state of arizona. they have made it very clear that they have been very vocal that immigration affects every aspect of their life and they say negatively. this governor is standing up and saying, look, i am going to challenge whether the united states of america can tell my citizens in arizona, the people who i work with, whether they have to give these licenses to people who did not fill out the proper paperwork to be in the united states of america. >> but she has to do it through the right process. her executive order doesn't get to trump president obama's executive order. that is not how principles, the rule of soup peoplesy works. our u.s. constitution prohibits it. she wants to get congress to change the constitution. uma: states do have that prerogative. >> they can challenge them

all they want. we have executive order issued by the president that says if we give you a work permit under your defered action program you be allowed to avail yourself of getting a driver's license. state of arizona has done that for instance, when people get married and they have a temporary work permit waiting for papers to go through, they're marrying a u.s. citizen, they get to go to work and get a driver's license. she is making a distinction that has no substance for purely political reasons. >> a federal judge is about to rule on it. she made this rule. now the civil liberties are coming in. they're bringing a lawsuit on behalf of five people from mexico. jon: right. >> it will be up to a federal judge to say, can, does the governor have the power to do this or doesn't she? i think she had to do it regardless just to tell her constituents i'm fighting a good fight for you. uma: she has been very clear where she stands. there is no secret. >> she is an outlyer at this point. she is an outlyer nationally on this issue. >> nationally, maybe, not

locally. she is local official. those are the people who she serves. >> yes, but she is very much outlyer in terms of republican party at this point. uma: we'll focus on another case making a lot of news right now because it is a high-profile murder trial going on in washington, delayed over get this, a hunger strike. 48-year-old albrect muth is charged with the beating death of his elderly wife. the judge delayed the start of the drill trial because the judge said he is too weak from fasting. he is half century younger than his late wife. the judge is saying the murder trial is in limbo status until at least next month. my big question, guys, why has there not been a call to check his competency to see whether or not he could stand trial? >> obviously if this was in the courthouses we were that would be first thing. that may have been done up to a point but, he is taking it to a point i've never seen in my 20 years as prosecutor and defense attorney. i had buys cut themselves.

i had them find raisers and -- razors, cut corrections officers, throw feces at people, that is other people. uma: too much for me. >> do things to bring yourself to the brink of death where he declared he is right now, clearly something is not working right up there. >> i think that is legitimate act of mental health issues. it is not easy to starve yourself. i would absolutely suspect at this point they would cease the proceedings and make sure he is competent. part of being competent, you have to be able to assist in your defense. this guy is like dying in front of us. he can't participate. >> he can't even come to court. he is too sick to even enter the courtroom. uma: got rid of the public defenders and brought some other guys back to help him. >> exactly. reality if you're purposely absenting yourself from the proceedings they can proceed without you, that is try true that is tried this absentia. you have to have notice and you have to be sort of avoiding.

the question becomes is he avoiding trial or really mentally ill. >> they prefer to not do that. worst thing they get a conviction and gets thrown out in appellate court. >> i won a case that way. he wasn't properly advised. they went ahead without him. convicted. raised it appeal. reversed it and had to go start again. it does happen. uma: what is adding fuel to the fire he believes he is a military officer from iraq and the fact he wears this uniform. so, you know, by -- >> wanted to wear it at trial. forbade him. uma: common sense he needs to be checked for mental stability. >> bottom line he is where he would wind up if got convicted. not out on the street. not in civilian hospital. he is being treated for near death. uma: had claims to part of her estate. they found it was not a true situation where the legitimate, claim to the estate because she had written him out of his will at the time. life will not be good for

him either way, even if they stop the proceedings to evaluate his fitness. >> doesn't look like he is going to live. they talked about force feeding him. uma: before they called the judge to put the case in limbo. >> there are certain situations they can force feed and so mentally incompetent injuring are themselves. he is too weak to insert the tubes and do what they need to be done. >> they force feed psychotropic medication because they refuse to take medication to be unfit for trial. they have the authority to do this. doesn't seem like this case is headed that way. uma: not at all. thanks it both of you. certainly a bizarre case we'll be following. >> sad one indeed. >> have a great weekend. uma: you too. jon? jon: and a strange one. there are new polls out showing the president's second term honeymoon might be over. well now the new data that could explain why. we will get reaction from our "news watch" panel. plus a stunning development in the "fast & furious" scandal linked to the death of a border agent. what america's homeland

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uma: new developments in the deadly botched gun-running sting "fast & furious". a brand new report is finding that top homeland security officials including secretary janet napolitano were not told about that operation. those officials did not find out about "fast & furious" until after border agent brian terry was killed. william la jeunesse is joining us now live with details from los angeles. william? >> reporter: well let me give you the conclusion first. many at homeland security did know for a long time, that the u.s. was helping smuggle guns to mexico and did nothing about it. according to this inspector general's report, among senior dhs staff in arizona, "fast & furious" was a case hear no seville, see no evil, speak no evil even though field level agents warned this case was quote, a train wreck.

supervisor's did in the even read their reports. early in the case after learning the atf was letting guns go to mexico and warning from gun store owners the buyers were dirty, a senior i.c.e. agent said in an e-mail, quote, i'm speechless. even the owner knows this is not right and atf apparently doesn't get it. we know atf did get it but they allowed criminals to smuggle 2,000 guns to mexico. homeland security even had an agent on the task force and he warned supervisors they were violating policy. the border patrol even stopped guns at border. each time the atf and u.s. attorney's office in arizona told them to back off. the ig report said word of the wrongdoing never left arizona. it exxon rates i.c.e. director john morton and homeland security secretary janet minneapolis. in many ways this report is whitewash. it does not name names it makes the i.c.e. arizona agent look inept.

secondly, dozens knew at the beginning this violated policy if not the law but no one was willing to put their career on the line to stop it until brian terry died and atf agent john dodson blue l blew the whistle. uma: such an unfortunate situation, william, thank you very much. jon: there are signs that the president's honeymoon is so over. we told but the president's poll numbers taking a dive. new data could suggest why. look at this graphic. it is a republican consulting firm that tracks every time an issue, organization, celebrity, or corporation is mentioned in any media. then it measures the tone of that coverage. those bubbles show the top five issues brought up in relation to the president. the redder they are, the more negative the tone. let's bring in our "news watch" panel. judith miller is a pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter and fox news contributor. also with us, kirsten powers who writes for "usa today" and "the daily beast".

kirsten, what about it? the president's job approval ratings haven't been looking so good. we'll get to that in a moment. but is the honeymoon over when it comes to his second term having just started? >> well, historically, the last four president who is would won re-election with the exception of clinton there is always a dip around this time. so it would be consistent with that. it seems the president is having a, you know, with his approval ratings i think are around 47% which are down from what they were right after the election. so, yeah, i mean it is fair to say that the honeymoon was over though historically i think it is pretty common. jon: but, judy, the republicans caved on things like the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling. it seemed like he was a on a roll in the early weeks. >> right, jon, but that may establish the point which is, that if you start out with a lower level of popularity than presidents traditionally started out,

their second term, you have further to fall, to rise in the polls if you're numbers go up but you have less to fall if, below to get that below that 50% mark. if you start out with a highly partisan, politicized electorate they will really come down on you like a ton of bricks if you do anything they don't like, which is a point that nate silver made in a recent analysis on the polling drop. i think coming right after this, the president's, what seems to be a very successful trip to the middle east just shows you that the american people are focused on the economy and they're focused on economic uncertainty. they're not focused on foreign policy as much as some of us would like, they really care about whether or not he's going to deliver any economic prosperity in the second term. jon: as we look at that video of the president shaking hands with world leaders in the middle east, yeah, the issues in this

country probably still resolve around jobs and the economy. when you look at the approval ratings from the last "fox news poll", pretty much tied 47 47% on approval of the job the president is doing, this, kirsten, after he, you know, came out in that inaugural address with a very liberal agenda, talking about, you know, i mean, essentially seeming to say that he got this huge mandate, maybe he doesn't exactly have that kind of popular support these days for the programs that he has been espousing? >> well i of course was one of the lone people who didn't think that was a liberal inaugural address but i that it was pretty mainstream. he laid out especially in the state of the union some very clear markers, specifically on gun control and saying over and over that all these people deserve a vote and now we see that actually one. key components in the assault weapons ban isn't going to be part the bill. so i think that, you know,

he is, he is being held to the standards of what he laid out and people are probably disappointed. there is also the sequester. i think they gambled on that and thought they were pogue to make the republicans look bad and doesn't seem to have really played out that way. so there are different things that are playing into this but like i said historically this is pretty common. jon: chris evers writes about politics and blogs about politics for "the washington post", judy, suggests in this era of twitter and social media it is much tougher for a president, any president to maintain this honeymoon. do you agree? >> no, i have to agree with that. in fact i was just going to make that point because it is the second point that the "washington post" pointed to in an explanation why the president may be having shorter honeymoon than even historically presidents have had, the last two of them. it is really tough to go up against nonstop channels that are very critical of you, bloggers who never

wanted you to be reelected in the first place and i think the steady drumbeat of criticism is something that previous presidents really didn't have to worry about. it is all over the social media. jon: but isn't good politics good policy or vice versa? >> go ahead, kirsten. >> i was going to say i have to disagree with what judy said. this president, no president has ever had such deference and such love among the media. so is happening on twitter among conservatives i don't really think any president, bill clinton would have killed for the kind of press that barack obama gets. >> mainstream media. mainstream media. >> whatever is happening on twitter is more than balanced out by the fact that most of the mainstream stream media is carrying water for him. jon: kirsten powers, and judy miller, thank you both. we'll have to end the discussion there. catch more with my excellent panel on "fox news watch."

we cover the week's top stories. that runs, 2:30 eastern time here on fox news channel. uma: there is new push against new york's gun control. the national rifle association is joining a lawsuit. we'll hear from them just ahead. it may be spring but many people across the country are still feeling the bitter cold temperatures. so when will it ever warm up? we want to know, now. [ male announcer ] to many men, shaving can be a sensitive issue. but take comfort. it may not be you; it may be your razor. upgrade to gillette fusion proglide. micro-thin blades are thinner than a surgeon's scalpel to put less stress on your skin by gliding through hair. switch to fusion proglide. number one dermatologist recommended on sensitive skin. and now introducing new fusion proglide sensitive shave gel. gillette. the best a man can get.

uma: fox extreme weather now. the questions so many of us are asking when is it finally going to warm up? the calendar says it is spring. for millions it feels a lot like winter.

meteorologist rick reichmuth join us from the fox weather center. we're all fed up. we have log cabin fever. we want it to end. >> people say will we drink margaritas again, get that time of the year? uma: i look forward to it. >> it is not comings quickly unfortunately. 37 degrees in new york city. coldest average temperature is 39. that gives you an idea of the temperatures we have for so many people. almost the entire country, at least 10 degrees below average if not more than. a big spot across the northern plains and northern rockies around 20 degrees below average. an area of texas and parts of new mexico and parts of arizona only five degrees above average. that's where we are now. that looks like we'll see for maybe the next week to two weeks. i have to be honest with you. we're in this for a while. yesterday however, noaa put the outlook for april through june. take a look at this. a big chunk of the country, including the northeast and here across the part of the

central plains with over 50% chance of seeing temps above average. doesn't mean they will being extremely above average. it means a better chance those temps will be above average and better chance they will be below average across parts of the pacific northwest. this is welcoming outlook for people to see the kind of conditions after what we dealt with. that is april into june. look what happens over the next week or so. this is kind of the dividing line between cold and warm. we'll see this just kind of stay in this pattern all the way through next friday, maybe a little it of a break across the central plains. but great lakes. northeast, honestly we're 10 days out as our models go. doesn't look like we see any big changes coming. hang in there. uma: rick, you're killing me. two weeks more of this? unbelievable. thanks, rick. >> you bet. jon: well somebody won't need to worry about the cold weather. we'll talk about the powerball jackpot in a bit. and you should do the crime, or if you do the crime you should dot time, right?

should that apply to america's most famous groundhog? meet the prosecutor who is not too happy with punxsutawney phil over this winter that won't go away. what's droid-smart ? with google now, it automatically knows when you need to leave for the airport, how much traffic there is, and can have your boarding pass ready. the droid razr maxx hd by motorola. droid-smart. droid-powerful.

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